1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a configured and adjustable game stick grip, particularly well suited for hockey sticks, with a triangular cross section and two or more orientations with respect to a blade or striking portion of a game stick. More particularly, the present invention relates to a configured game stick grip having a triangular cross section with three sides and three edges for preventing rotation and providing a recognizable orientation with respect to the blade in the hand of a player. In addition, the present invention relates to an adjustable game stick grip adjustably coupled to the blade for providing at least two orientations of the grip with respect to the blade.
2. Prior Art
Many games involve the use of a game stick to strike or otherwise direct a ball or game piece. Such game sticks usually have a blade or striking portion with a striking surface. This blade is disposed on the end of an elongated handle that has a grip on the other end with which the player grasps the game stick. Alternatively, the grip may extend the length of the handle, or the entire handle may serve as the grip. Effective and accurate use of the game stick typically requires that the striking surface be properly oriented with respect to the game piece, which in turn requires that the grip or handle be properly oriented in the players hand. In addition, it is necessary that the grip or handle remain properly oriented, especially when the game stick is used with great force striking a game piece with the gamestick produces forces tending to rotate the stick in the player's hand. Furthermore, it is also desirable that the grip or handle fit comfortably in the players hand because the game stick is held for the length of the game.
For example, ice hockey is a popular sport played by many people ranging from young children to professional athletes. Hockey is typically played on enclosed rinks by attempting to shoot a puck through a goal located at either end of the rink, known as a cage. The players wear skates and strike the puck with a stick in order to move it across the rink and into the cage. During play, the puck is often passed back and forth between players and shot at the cages. Accurately passing or shooting the puck with the stick requires a great degree of skill. Therefore, it is important for the player's hockey stick to enhance the player's skill or at least not unduly interfere or impede the player's ability. In addition, the puck is often shot at the goal with a great deal of force. Therefore, it is important for the player's hockey stick to capably handle the applied forces.
The hockey stick usually has an elongated handle with a grip at a proximal end and a blade at a distal end. The stick is grasped by the player at the grip and at the handle. The blade extends from the handle and has a striking surface used for contacting the puck. The blade is used to guide the puck across the ice as the player skates. In addition, the blade strikes the puck in order to pass the puck to another player or to shot the puck at the goal. The blade is usually formed of wood and may be reinforced with a fiber and epoxy matrix. The blade is also sometimes formed from a plastic material. The handle is also usually formed of wood and may also be reinforced with a fiber and epoxy matrix. The hockey stick typically is provided as an integral unit, with the blade either integrally formed with the handle or otherwise permanently fastened to the handle.
The grip is formed at one end of the handle and wrapped with a tape material for an improved grip. Typically, the grip is little more than an extension of the proximal end of the handle wrapped in tape. Players may hold the handle by the grip with one hand, but usually grasp the handle with both hands, one hand grasping the grip and the other grasping the handle past the grip. In this sense, the entire handle forms the grip of the stick. Passing and shooting the puck usually requires holding the stick with both hands.
The handle is usually formed of an elongated shank with a rectangular cross section. As mentioned above, the grip is usually nothing more than the proximal end of the handle, and thus shares the same rectangular cross section. The handle, and grip, have four surfaces, two elongated surfaces generally facing in the same direction as the striking surface of the blade and a back of the blade, respectively, and two shorter surfaces each located between and perpendicular to the longer surfaces. A radius of curvature is formed between each of the surfaces.
One problem with typical hockey sticks is the difficulty of adequately and comfortably grasping the grip and handle. In order to accurately pass the puck and powerfully shoot the puck with the stick, it is necessary to effectively grasp and control the hockey stick. The broad surfaces of the rectangular cross section provide some degree of orienting the stick within the hands of the player and preventing the stick from rotating or twisting.
The rectangular cross section, however, fits unnaturally in the player's hands. The two broad surfaces and two narrow surfaces do not effectively match the surfaces created by the closed hand. The result is that the blade itself is not properly oriented with respect to the puck for effectively passing or shooting the puck. The player must correct for this misorientation by twisting the wrists or rotating the body or upper torso so that the blade is properly oriented.
In addition, the mismatch between the rectangular stick and hands means that the stick must be gripped with an unnecessary amount of force to prevent rotation of the stick within the hands. Furthermore, when the stick strikes the puck with great force, such as during shooting, the force tends to rotate the stick within the hands, thus causing inaccurate shooting.
Other examples of games requiring game sticks include, street hockey, roller hockey, field hockey, ringuette, etc. The game sticks used in these games face many similar problems as those identified above.
Limited efforts have been directed towards improving hockey stick designs or game stick designs. U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,003, issued Apr. 26, 1994, to Pagotto, discloses a hockey stick with a handle having a generally rectangular cross section including four sides and four edges. The two upper edges have a larger radius of curvature than the two lower edges. U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,725, issued Nov. 26, 1996, to Pagotto et al. discloses a hockey stick with a handle having upper and lower gripping zones. Each zone of the handle has a generally rectangular cross section with the longer sides having concave and convex faces. Each zone is reversed relative to the other to accommodate each hand of the player. One disadvantage of the above handles is that they maintain the traditional rectangular cross section. As discussed above, the rectangular cross section does not fit naturally in the player's hand and is difficult to adequately and comfortably grasp.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to develop a grip capable of properly orienting the game stick in the player's hands so that the striking surface is properly oriented with respect to the game piece. It would also be advantageous to develop a grip capable of remaining properly oriented. It would also be advantageous to develop a grip that conforms more naturally to the player's hand. It would also be advantageous to develop a grip that is comfortable. It would also be advantageous to develop a grip with different orientations with respect to the striking surface to suit the needs and desires of the player. It would also be advantageous to develop a grip with multiple configurations and/or multiple orientations to suit each of the player's hands.